The Average Sales Price (ASP) increased 15.2% from May to June! Hollister’s ASP in June was $287,900 whereas a month earlier the average was $249,900.  Compared to June 2008 however, Hollister’s ASP was down 14.7% .

A valuable indicator: the “Closed Sales to New Listings ratio” (CS:NL) is actually in conflict with the jump in ASP.   June’s CS:NL ratio dropped to 56.9% from May’s 89.6%.  We saw the same drop in Gilroy for June however, their ASP also dropped.   The harbinger of things to come, may lie in the nice increase of Hollister’s CS:NL over 6/08’s ratio of 40.2%.  Just wait and see.  As our CS:NL ratio increases so will our ASP.

Nearby Morgan Hill’s homes experienced an increase in both the CS:NL ratio and ASP.

My strong advice: if you plan to buy a home this year do it now.  We see nothing that suggest prices will drop or even level off in the foreseeable future.  Likewise I think interest rates for home loans are about as low as they are going to get.

For your own study of the actual Multiple Listing Service figures go onto “Client Portfolio” on the navigation bar.  There you can see a great deal of real-time data.  Enjoy.

Gilroy, as well as virtually every other city, has a building code requiring that homes be built with a firewall between the attached garage and the home.  Many house fires begin in the garage so the firewall is engineered to impede a fire which starts in the garage from spreading to the home.  Most jurisdictions require the firewall to provide such a delay for up to two hours.

While making “Spike’s” life a little more convenient the homeowner who puts a pet door in the the door leading into the home from the garage may have problems collecting from their homeowners insurance where a fire began in the garage.

I find it interesting that many insurance agents say homeowners with such pet doors will still be covered yet home inspectors seem compelled to address this issue in their written reports.

Occasionally, a homeowner will cut the firewall for attic access or to install a drop down ladder.  They may face the same dilemma with their insurance company.

Building Code also requires that your garage-to-home door have a functioning, self-closing, hinge.  For obvious reasons that door needs to close so that the firewall retards the spread of a garage fire.  For reasons beyond me some homeowners disengage such a hinge.  Again, such a move may prove costly later.

So, why not check with your homeowner insurance agent and see what their position is on the doggie door dilemma.  We can check with the City’s code enforcement folks.  Sorry “Spike”.  Of course the standing rule remains: “caveat emptor”.

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The supply of homes listed for sale dropped 75.8% in May and was the 5th consecitive month this year where New Listings dropped.   So far this year our Gilroy New Listings are down 32.7% from last year.

Similarly, Morgan Hill’s Closed Sales are up 59.4% and the number of New Listings is down 23.5% from 2008.

While the price levels and home loan interest rates are still low NOW is the time to come join us in the “Garlic Capital of the World” and buy your own home.

Some changes in service will impact commuters. To save nearly $2 million in next year’s budget the mid-day service will run every hour rather than every half hour.  Parking costs will go up $1 to $3 per day.  The bulk ticket “Go” passes will also see a slight fee increase.

So, of the 39,122 riders on the Caltrain system (2/09), the 324 commuters from South Santa Clara County can keep their transportation plans on track.

Good work everybody!

For more information go to: pinnaclenews.com